Mass Media Bias

Today, there is a lot of bias going on in the media. Media bias is the perception that the media is reporting the news in a partial or prejudiced manner. The media today feeds people with the correct information, but not complete information. They leave one side of a story or a crucial aspect of a story.

Influences on parliament is a factor that plays a very big role in creating new laws due to support and backing that some groups have which enforces their opinions and brings them in to the parliament. This helps them put their ideas forward and force them through the parliament so that they can become a law. There are 3 main influencers:

Society as a whole tend to watch the news outlets that most fit with their own beliefs. As shown by a Pew Research Center study in 2014, “When it comes to getting news about politics and government, liberals and conservatives inhabit different worlds. There is little overlap in the news sources they turn to and trust. And whether discussing politics online or with friends, they are more likely than others to interact with like-minded individuals” (Mitchell et al). This is called selective exposure and involves the theory of cognitive dissonance, where people seek means to rationalize their beliefs by avoiding information that clashes with their existing views (Festinger). By having their beliefs continually confirmed by both their news sources and the people around them, their views will never be challenged, hence leading to a breakdown in productive discussion. Productive discussion is a hallmark of our society, both between citizens and the politicians they elect to lead them. Media bias affects productive discussion in two main ways. The first is that the bias creates a foundation of misrepresentations of the facts which ensures that the people cannot debate the facts as they are. One of the main functions of the news media is to set the agenda for society. In the words of Bernard Cohen, “media do not tell people what to think, but what to think about” (Cohen). When the media presents biased

Ironically, Rupert Murdoch, the head of Fox News’ parent company, has been quoted saying, "I challenge anybody to show me an example of bias in Fox News Channel." (Murdoch) Bias is clearly evident in much of the coverage from Fox News, however in this case the data is on their side, and they have presented a grand argument for the SCCC organization’s

3. Most news sources are for profit organizations that edit stories to gain more attention and better ratings. Also, news stations like Fox and CNN contribute their own political views and feelings about a story, and they can present topics based on their own opinions and biases. News stations that tend to be more reliable include stations like PBS and other nonprofit broadcast organizations. One of the big topics in the news today is hate crimes and discrimination against people of a different race, gender, gender orientation, sexual orientation, religion, and people with disabilities. For a crime to be classified as a hate crime the victim must present evidence that the act was motivated by hate. The offender could have used hateful language, left hate symbols, or the police concluded that it was a hate crime.

Many people working in the news media claim that the press gives a perfectly objective and unbiased portrayal of events. Even the most sincerely objective reporters and editors express bias simply by choosing what facts to include and what to leave out when writing news stories. In the reporting of Bowe Bergdahl, bias can be seen. The report done by Megyn Kelly on Bowe Bergdahl shows more signs of bias then the report done by Jake Trapper. Through careful analysis, Megyn Kelly’s reporting seems more biased based on the emphasis of the story, tone, and the sources, words on the screen and the pictures on the screen.

In the bibliography of Cass Sunstein “The Things People Say” by Elizabeth Kolbert, she uses examples of some dislike towards President Obama to examine the ideology behind a growing trend of bias online media outlets ability to sway the “American voter” as Cass Sunstein writes. Kolbert goes on to explain that the ease and usability of the online world allows users to tailor their search results. Resulting in users amplifying their political standings and viewpoints. She points out that this is not always good because of the amount of information on the internet, truth is often lost and replaced with a more fabricated truth. Kolbert relates that these untruths in a world of technology, coupled with bias media, results in users with the same

Political Bias in media is one of the most rampant examples of bias in terms of its influence on mindsets of people. The statement above by Edward R. Murrow makes total sense in today’s world. Political Bias is at its peak during elections. Public has to vote for candidates and much information about the candidates comes from media. Media, during these times, takes this advantage. Political bias can occur in two ways- individualistic bias and gatekeeping. Individualistic bias occurs when an individual reporter skews the views he or she is reporting because of a personal bias. Gatekeeping occurs when a group of journalists or editors come together and skew the coverage in a way they want, hiding the actual

The development of these adverse elements raises this question: how is mass media increasing party polarization and creating echo chambers in American politics? This essay will investigative how mass media has increased political polarization between the Democratic and Republican parties of the United States with the growth of echo chambers where Americans are increasingly only reading sources that reaffirm their beliefs. The essay will discuss how partisanship is the cause of this divide in information and how mass media is pushing the divide through the creation of liberal or conservative leaning outlets and “fake news” that deliberately mislead

Media bias is the tendency for the media to represent different people in a particular way based on their own perspectives, the perspectives of their sponsors, and possibly the perspectives of society. Media bias could be obvious, but usually it is indirect. It can be presented in the substance of TV programs. It can be presented in the choices of sorts of stories that they show on the news. It can be presented in the dialect utilized on shows, and that is composed in the daily paper and magazines. Is it wrong for a reporter to add things to the news that is not real to make it more interesting? It can be if the reporter is tending to his bias thoughts and disregarding the objectiveness, fairness, and balance that he or she promised to do. Anyhow is this truly an issue in the media?. Regarding people who believe that media is always telling the truth, media do present biased

The process of political socialization is what happens throughout a person’s life can influence their political ideology. There have been three main factors that have been major influences on my political ideology. These three factors are schools, peers, and mass media. These three factors are a driving force of why I am a republican to this day.

Like any good source, facts distributed through political news reporting should be fair and balanced. In order for news reports to be "fair and balanced", news outlets should not only share unbiased facts, but they should cover all sides of the story equally. These characteristics would be ideal tools used to educate the American public on different issues and topics.

There are various different ways people get information about government and politics. However, the three main ways are from social media, the news media, and from the way people talk about politics with family and friends. But when it comes to receiving news for the Liberals and Conservatives, they have different point of views and trust only few. Three of the Newscasts that have Conservative and Liberal Values are CNN, FOX, and MSNBC. It is believed that CNN is fifteen percent Liberal and that MSNBC is twelve percent Liberal, however FOX is forty-seven percent Conservative. Although many do not notice the differences and some may only watch to get final results in sports, there is information out there that can prove that one is more Liberal

The theoretical framework of this thesis is based on agenda setting theory and the concept of framing. Walter Lippmann intellectually founded the concept of agenda setting. Even though Lippmann not yet mentions agenda setting namely, he does indeed elaborate the theoretical foundation and the general ideas, which essentially define agenda setting theories today (McCombs 2004, 3). “His thesis is that the news media, our windows to the vast world beyond direct experience, determine our cognitive maps of that world” (McCombs 2004, 3).

Then, the filter that they use Sourcing Mass Media News by Herman and Chomsky argue that “the large bureaucracies of the powerful subsidize the mass media, and gain special access to the news to get the info, by their contribution to reducing the media’s costs of acquiring and producing, news. The large entities that provide this subsidy become 'routine' news sources and have privileged access to the gates. Non-routine sources must struggle for access, and may be ignored by the arbitrary decision of the